Schools to get more solar panels

San Diego  A long-awaited plan to equip more San Diego schools with solar power will begin next week as students leave the classroom for summer vacation.

Some 23,000 solar panels will be attached to 80 rooftops throughout the San Diego Unified School District. Electric car ports will be installed at six campuses.

The district entered into a contract with Solana Beach-based AMSOLAR last year to build 5 megawatts of solar power.

The new energy system will produce solar power equivalent to 64 percent of the energy consumption at the 20 campuses, and it will generate 11 percent of the district’s total energy. The electricity will would supplement the district’s existing 4.17 megawatts of solar power, increasing the number of schools and facilities that rely on the sun for energy from 28 to 48. A megawatt can power about 1,000 homes.

The district expects to save between $13 million and $20 million against its energy costs over the life of its 22-year contract with AMSOLAR.

San Diego Unified will buy $35 million worth of solar-generated electricity from the company in lieu of purchasing it from San Diego Gas and Electric.

Meanwhile, the energy project could fuel lessons and educational demonstrations. Through its nonprofit foundation, the solar energy provider will work with schools to promote solar awareness and education.

Originally set to begin last fall, the solar panel installation is set to be finished by early 2012.

Schools that are in line to relieve solar panels are: Baker, Benchley-Weinberger, Boone, Edison, Emerson-Bandini, Encanto, Freese, Gage, Johnson, Sherman, and Valencia Park elementary schools. Clairemont, Kearny, Lincoln, Madison, Mission Bay, Morse, Scripps Ranch and University City high schools are also on the list, as is the district’s Revere Center.